Reviews

One of the great things about FATEA is that it gives lesser known artists a platform to showcase their talents. So here is a new name for most music lovers.

Ian Wallace is a New Zealand born musician who currently lives in Knaresborough, the same town that I live in. I first heard Ian over three years ago when he supported Chris Wood in concert. I said at the time that I was more impressed with Ian than Chris and that feeling remains the same today.

This latest album from Ian has been produced by him in his own studio. He also plays all the instruments on it so proving that he is most certainly not a one trick pony.

The album, rather unimaginatively entitled Ian Wallace, contains a mix of some blues influenced standards, a couple of self-penned songs and a delightful version of Jeff Wayne's "Forever Autumn" made famous by Justin Hayward. There is also a tribute to Rossini in the guise of "Can You Tell Overture," a remarkable instrumental version of the famous piece of music. A rather clever title too and certainly not the sort of track you would expect to hear on a non-classical album these days.

Ian has an extremely laid back style about him and his music, very reminiscent of his country of birth. He is an accomplished musician with a delightfully smooth voice. His lyrics on the self-penned songs are imaginative and thoughtful. To complete the package, he is also a genuinely nice man.

I find it quite frustrating that, when you listen to many of the artists (?) that are featured these days, a genuinely talented artist finds it a struggle to get his music heard. This can be said of a number of musicians and once again a big shout out and thanks to FATEA for giving them a platform to try to redress the balance.

This new offering by Ian certainly hits the spot for me in such a way that I am even willing to forgive Ian his lack of imagination in the title of the album. Here is a musician with real talent and a feel for music. He deserves to be heard by a worldwide audience and to plagiarise something that one of his friends said "a minute spent listening to Ian play and sing will never be a wasted minute."

If you want to know more about Ian or order this album, please take a look at his Facebook page at: Ian Wallace Music. You will not be disappointed.